Pebbles: 1 Family Mostly Stock 68 Build

[lgdpt]

Hey Chuck, I saw your comment on mine and came over to see your progress.

I bet you are going to finish before I do. I cant believe how nice this is turning out.

By the way, I think that non-ABS firewall insulation you got is the way to go... I've been fighting with my ABS one since day one. Its in place, but it made life tough for a while.

Did you powdercoat your cage yet? Any pics of the threaded inserts for the seat belts?

Keep up the great work!

 

[chuckyb]

Hey Chuck, I saw your comment on mine and came over to see your progress.

I bet you are going to finish before I do. I cant believe how nice this is turning out.

By the way, I think that non-ABS firewall insulation you got is the way to go... I've been fighting with my ABS one since day one. Its in place, but it made life tough for a while.

Did you powdercoat your cage yet? Any pics of the threaded inserts for the seat belts?

Keep up the great work!

Thank you very much, Travis! I’m really happy with the firewall insulation. To me, it has an OEM look, the holes are in the correct spot and so far it has only required minor trimming near the fuse box. The trimming is easy to do with a utility knife. I’m planning to get some pics up soon.

My cage is in queue for powdercoating. I hemmed and hawed and finally decided on RAL 1013 Oyster, which seemed to be closest to my Wimbledon White paint sample. I have attached a few pics where you can see the nubs which will be the inserts for the seat belts. They will be tapped for threads after powdercoating. They are hard to see but they are there if you look closely. According to my master body man, you want them facing inward / at each other for best placement of the seat belts.

BTW, I no longer have any target dates for finishing. I am just trying to focus on enjoying the journey and avoiding do-overs .

 

[mattyq17]

Looking good Chucky!! Lgdpt, I know you are asking about Chucky's threaded inserts but here is a picture of mine just to give you another look.

 

[bronkenn]

Very nice build Chuck. Coming along nicely.

 

[lgdpt]

Thank you very much, Travis! I’m really happy with the firewall insulation. To me, it has an OEM look, the holes are in the correct spot and so far it has only required minor trimming near the fuse box. The trimming is easy to do with a utility knife. I’m planning to get some pics up soon.

My cage is in queue for powdercoating. I hemmed and hawed and finally decided on RAL 1013 Oyster, which seemed to be closest to my Wimbledon White paint sample. I have attached a few pics where you can see the nubs which will be the inserts for the seat belts. They will be tapped for threads after powdercoating. They are hard to see but they are there if you look closely. According to my master body man, you want them facing inward / at each other for best placement of the seat belts.

BTW, I no longer have any target dates for finishing. I am just trying to focus on enjoying the journey and avoiding do-overs .

Yep, Im the same. I keep getting temped to cut corners to get it driving....but then I talk my self into slowing down and doing it right the first time. Baby steps!

 

[lgdpt]

Looking good Chucky!! Lgdpt, I know you are asking about Chucky's threaded inserts but here is a picture of mine just to give you another look.

Thank you, those are really nice! Any idea where they come from?

 

[mattyq17]

Thank you, those are really nice! Any idea where they come from?

My brother in law who built the cage made them.

 

[chuckyb]

Progress in firewall area

I am mostly trying to stay focused on the firewall area since the cage install is coming soon. I completed the Chevy heater motor upgrade and am happy with how it came together. More details on that can be found here:

http://http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3168611#post3168611

Pedal work is almost complete except for linkage. E-brake pieces are all installed but it does not seem to work, I need to pop off the rear wheels and take a look inside as the rear cables seem loose.

My “new” 66 exhaust manifolds are on and look great (thanks Delconick!).

I finally got the output yoke straightened out on the Rancho Overdrive. More details on that on my Rancho Overdrive thread:

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292745

Next up is more progress with dash, wiring and then steering column.

 

[chuckyb]

Roof, Hood, Cage

I set out with my Dad yesterday to pick up the roll cage from powder coating and also to pick up the hood, roof and other unattached parts from the body shop. Given the size of the parts, we put the Bronco on the trailer so that the roof and hood could be attached. We did a quickie install on the hood and roof, subject to more alignment and tuning at a later date. Unfortunately, since I do not yet have the dash in, we are not ready to install the cage, and it will continue to take up additional garage and trailer space for now.

I am happy with the powder coat on the cage. As previously mentioned it is RAL Oyster 1013, intended to match Wimbledon White. Seems to have a touch more yellow than Wimbledon White, but it's a very close match and I think it will fit right in with the overall color scheme. The picture with the Mustang helps with comparing the cage color. Both the Bronco roof and the Mustang are Wimbledon White.

Progress on the Centech wiring has been pretty slow. I probably need a few more hours of work to get to the point of getting the dash in, but could be months from now given my limited time to work on things. I'm not complaining though. I am a lucky man having this great project to work on and a year ago, it was a just a bare frame that I was bringing home.

 

[rydog1130]

nice chucky, keep it up! almost there!

 

[Montoya]

Looking great and love the original stang next to it.

 

[chuckyb]

Front dress: WH One Wire 3G Alternator, Tom’s underdash AC etc

Some updates on how things are shaping up under the hood. Front dress consists of WH one-wire alternator, Tom’s underdash AC compressor, stock PS pump from NAPA, and NOS 76 Granada seven blade fan.

The AC compressor bracket also serves as the main alternator bracket. The AC and alternator share a pulley with this set up. In test fitting the Tom’s radiator and shroud, I needed a 1 1/2 fan spacer to clear the AC and PS pulleys. With the new alternator, the big yellow Centech alt wire is not used. Centech is prototyping a 3G wire set up and I got one from them. It is nice but includes the extra wires and plug for the internal regulator which is not needed with the WH one-wire alternator, so I capped them off.

 

[chuckyb]

Dash and progress with Centech wiring

Some updates on progress with dash area and wiring. I followed advice on this site about cutting the new plastic glovebox and attaching to the dash prior to installing the dash. I put a sock over the steering column to avoid scratches and added the screw clip for the dash center screw. Then my son and I each took an end, got it to close proximity in order to get the side brackets on. The new plastic defrost plenum was easy to install. The defrost hoses are a tight fit for the hands and I wish I had added other items to the dash pre-install such as ignition and headlight switches.

I would like to recommend PJ1 cable lube for anyone that wants to salvage their original dash cables. Mine were all seized up in varying degrees but otherwise intact. I hung the cables from a wire shelf in the garage with the knobs on top and sprayed the lube into the knob area and let it trickle through. Every couple of days, I would pull on the knobs a bit and repeat. They now all work very smoothly.

I have added stock electric wipers (and windshield frame) from a 73 donor to replace the original vacuums. I placed the wiper switch where the cigar lighter was - I made a notch at 12 o’clock on the cigar lighter hole and it’s a perfect fit. I have added the F-150 wiper delay and have it wired to the Centech harness- we’ll see how it tests out.

One other change to the stock dash controls - I found NOS rotunda fog lamps and switch. The switch goes where the wiper squirter previously was which did not require modifying the dash. I did use a blank wiper bezel and reamed it flat on the back and used it with the fog lamp switch to make it match a bit better.

I’m getting close to installing gauges and testing all the lights and switches. Thanks to Kevin at Classy Gauges for the great looking restoration. I want to make sure everything done under the dash so far is working before I mount the underdash AC.

 

[Crawdad]

I should have done this months ago so here we go. Thank you so much for mtg with me and my son. I’m sure the rear seat will work perfectly in my build. By the way, my son can’t stop talking about your mustang!
Matt

 

[rydog1130]

looks good chucky...one step closer!

 

[chuckyb]

I should have done this months ago so here we go. Thank you so much for mtg with me and my son. I’m sure the rear seat will work perfectly in my build. By the way, my son can’t stop talking about your mustang!
Matt

Hi Matt, most welcome and thanks for coming up and checking out the stable. That’s a fine young man you have there, and he has great taste in cars, too!

 

[chuckyb]

looks good chucky...one step closer!

Thank you, Ryan. Some days I only make an inch of progress, but it’s getting there. I appreciate the encouragement.

 

[chuckyb]

Fuel delivery - dual tanks and venting

Now I am complete with installing the two fuel tanks, rebuild and re-install of dual tank switch, fuel lines and wiring the Centech harness connections. Pretty standard stuff with one modification. My 68 aux tank fuel filler is the old kind with no venting. The replacement aux tank had the vent port so I got some extra 5/8” fuel hose and some brass tees and vented the aux tank into the vent line for the main tank. With the 1” body lift, it created a nice spot on top of the frame rail to route the vent line. Hopefully this will allow for quick fill-up of aux tank. I’m assuming I’ll need to have both fuel caps off to accomplish this. Kind of hard to get a pic to show the venting.

 

[rydog1130]

Think you'll have it road ready by this spring bud?

 

[chuckyb]

Think you'll have it road ready by this spring bud?

Hi Ryan, I had to give up the ghost on getting it done by end of year but hope is still alive for the spring. Time and money are both factors... the big three remaining expenses I see are exhaust, tires and TBP Premium seats.